Sandwich chain bought of administration as part of Patisserie Valerie rescue deal
Chester sandwich chain Philpotts has been bought out of administration saving more than 200 jobs.
The firm, which has shops across the North West, was launched in Chester in 1985 by businessman Phil Brown but was bought by Patisserie Valerie in 2014.
The first store was opened in Chester but the brand has since been rolled out across the UK.
Following the administration of parent company Patisserie Valerie, it has been announced that Philpotts has been purchased by Spar owner A.F. Blakemore & Son.
Meanwhile, Patisserie Valerie has been bought out of administration by Irish private equity firm Causeway Capital, saving 96 shops and nearly 2,000 jobs.
In a statement to the stock market, Patisserie Holdings said: “Patisserie Holdings has today completed the sale of Patisserie Valerie to Dublin-based Causeway Capital and Philpotts to
A.F.Blakemore for a total consideration of £13m comprising £10m cash and £3m deferred consideration.”
The move sees the £1.1bn family-owned food and drinks business acquire the 21 Philpotts stores located across the UK whilst securing the jobs of 210 Philpotts employee.
The acquisition is part of A.F. Blakemore’s strategy to expand the business in line with its emphasis on ‘food for now.’
The move comes after the firm sold of its cash and carry division in 2018.
A.F. Blakemore chairman Peter Blakemore said: “It was important to reach an agreement that enabled us to keep the 21 Philpotts stores open and secure the future of the 210 jobs for employees currently across the UK.
“Bringing Philpotts under A.F. Blakemore ownership, enhances our current retail offer and is aligned with our strategic retail and food service plan. Our experience and knowledge of the food service and convenience sectors brings significant opportunities to develop the brand, whilst taking elements of the Philpotts offer into our wider business.”
A.F. Blakemore & Son Ltd was founded in 1917 and is a family-owned food & drink retail, wholesale and distribution business, based in Willenhall, West Midlands.
Peter Blakemore is the third generation of the Blakemore family to lead the company, which currently employs 7,500 people and has a turnover of £1.1bn.
The company ranks number 44 in the Sunday Times Top Track 100 of Britain’s private companies.
A.F. Blakemore is made up of eight separate divisions:
· Retail, which consists of 282 retail SPAR stores
· Trade Partners, which serves 729 independently owned SPAR stores
· Logistics, which distributes to 1,011 SPAR stores in addition to supporting the wider AFB Group
· Wholesale Distribution, a national and international distribution service
· Foodservice, which delivers multi-temperature orders to catering outlets nationwide
· Fresh Foods, a fresh meat wholesaler, distributor and importer
· Design & Shopfitting, which is A.F. Blakemore’s own shop fitting division
· Fine Foods, which helps small, speciality food producers with getting their products to market
